BlackBerry 10.1 beta includes HDR photos, app-specific alerts and more

The folks at BlackBerry are planning to push BlackBerry 10.1 sometime in the future, and until that launch, is allowing developers to give it a try.

BlackBerry 10.1C SDK OS (10.1.0.1483) OS has landed for developers to give them time to build compatible apps, and inadvertently, has given BlackBerry 10 users an early look at what’s to come.

CrackBerry has posted a great round-up of what developers have already discovered. Some of the more notable features include an HDR photo option, new help demos upon first boot for new users, ability to turn off alerts for specific apps, BlackBerry World coupon redemption, and the ability to paste phone numbers right into the phone application.

The iPhone was first handset to include HDR photo capabilities, which gives a sharper feel to photos. It stands for high dynamic range and takes a series of images, each shot with a different exposure from darkest to lightest. All three parts are then combined to highlight lighting better in shots. Developers say this option has been found within the beta, which could potentially improve the BlackBerry Z10’s relatively weak camera.

Other features that CrackBerry found include PIN to PIN messaging now available in the BlackBerry Hub, Highlights for word correction on the keyboard are now green, instead of blue, and selecting text has been improved, now allowing you to move easily from left to right.

When we reviewed the BlackBerry Z10 earlier this year, we noted BlackBerry 10 still needed a lot of features that other smartphones have on the market today. It’s great that BlackBerry is sticking with the platform as it plans more devices for later this year.

Will this be all the features to come to BlackBerry 10.1? Probably not. We'll keep an eye out for when the folks in Waterloo push the update forward.

The baby of the Lint team, Jake is responsible for covering the latest news out of the US. He began writing technology news at 15, covering the world of Apple for several publications. He has a deep interest in the latest gadgets and gizmos. Outside of breaking news, Jake enjoys drumming, music and photography.